Yoga Class Draws a Religious Protest
T. Lynne Pixley for The New York Times
Miriam Ruiz during a yoga
class last week at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School in Encinitas,
Calif. A few dozen parents are protesting that the program amounts to
religious indoctrination. More Photos »
By WILL CARLESS
Published: December 15, 2012
ENCINITAS, Calif. — By 9:30 a.m. at Paul Ecke Central Elementary School,
tiny feet were shifting from downward dog pose to chair pose to warrior
pose in surprisingly swift, accurate movements. A circle of 6- and
7-year-olds contorted their frames, making monkey noises and repeating
confidence-boosting mantras.
Multimedia
T. Lynne Pixley for The New York Times
First-grade students during a recent yoga lesson at the school. More Photos »
T. Lynne Pixley for The New York Times
Jack Splavec, Calista Frank and Sarah Taylor doing a relaxation exercise at the end of a class. More Photos »
Jackie Bergeron’s first-grade yoga class was in full swing.
“Inhale. Exhale. Peekaboo!” Ms. Bergeron said from the front of the class. “Now, warrior pose. I am strong! I am brave!”
Though the yoga class had a notably calming effect on the children, things were far from placid outside the gymnasium.
A small but vocal group of parents, spurred on by the head of a local
conservative advocacy group, has likened these 30-minute yoga classes to
religious indoctrination. They say the classes — part of a
comprehensive program offered to all public school students in this
affluent suburb north of San Diego — represent a violation of the First
Amendment.
After the classes prompted discussion in local evangelical churches,
parents said they were concerned that the exercises might nudge their
children closer to ancient Hindu beliefs.
Mary Eady, the parent of a first grader, said the classes were rooted in
the deeply religious practice of Ashtanga yoga, in which physical
actions are inextricable from the spiritual beliefs underlying them.
“They’re not just teaching physical poses, they’re teaching children how
to think and how to make decisions,” Ms. Eady said. “They’re teaching
children how to meditate and how to look within for peace and for
comfort. They’re using this as a tool for many things beyond just
stretching.”
Ms. Eady and a few dozen other parents say a public school system should
not be leading students down any particular religious path. Teaching
children how to engage in spiritual exercises like meditation
familiarizes young minds with certain religious viewpoints and
practices, they say, and a public classroom is no place for that.
Underlying the controversy is the source of the program’s financing. The
pilot project is supported by the Jois Foundation, a nonprofit
organization founded in memory of Krishna Pattabhi Jois, who is
considered the father of Ashtanga yoga.
Dean Broyles, the president and chief counsel of the National Center for
Law and Policy, a nonprofit law firm that champions religious freedom
and traditional marriage, according to its Web site, has dug up quotes
from Jois Foundation leaders, who talk about the inseparability of the
physical act of yoga from a broader spiritual quest. Mr. Broyles argued
that such quotes betrayed the group’s broader evangelistic purpose.
“There is a transparent promotion of Hindu religious beliefs and
practices in the public schools through this Ashtanga yoga program,” he
said.
“The analog would be if we substituted for this program a charismatic
Christian praise and worship physical education program,” he said.
The battle over yoga in schools has been raging for years across the country but has typically focused on charter schools, which receive public financing but set their own curriculums.
The move by the Encinitas Union School District to mandate yoga classes
for all students who do not opt out has elevated the discussion. And it
has split an already divided community.
The district serves the liberal beach neighborhoods of Encinitas,
including Leucadia, where Paul Ecke Central Elementary is, as well as
more conservative inland communities. On the coast, bumper stickers
reading “Keep Leucadia Funky” are borne proudly. Farther inland, cars
are more likely to feature the Christian fish symbol, and large
evangelical congregations play an important role in shaping local
philosophy.
Opponents of the yoga classes have started an online petition to remove
the course from the district’s curriculum. They have shown up at school
board meetings to denounce the program, and Mr. Broyles has threatened
to sue if the board does not address their concerns.
The district has stood firm. Tim Baird, the schools superintendent, has
defended the yoga classes as merely another element of a broader program
designed to promote children’s physical and mental well-being. The
notion that yoga teachers have designs on converting tender young minds
to Hinduism is incorrect, he said.
“That’s why we have an opt-out clause,” Mr. Baird said. “If your faith
is such that you believe that simply by doing the gorilla pose, you’re
invoking the Hindu gods, then by all means your child can be doing
something else.”
Ms. Eady is not convinced.
“Yoga poses are representative of Hindu deities and Hindu stories about
the actions and interactions of those deities with humans,” she said.
“There’s content even in the movement, just as with baptism there’s
content in the movement.”
Russell Case, a representative of the Jois Foundation, said the parents’ fears were misguided.
“They’re concerned that we’re putting our God before their God,” Mr.
Case said. “They’re worried about competition. But we’re much closer to
them than they think. We’re good Christians that just like to do yoga
because it helps us to be better people.”
end quote from:
I was always told that Yoga actually means "to Yoke" sort of like yoking a cow or horse to pull a cart. In otherwords it is a discipline based upon mental, physical and emotional health more than anything else. In the Same way a person can be a Buddhist and a Christian at the same time because Christians don't perceive Buddhism as a religion but as a philosophy, Christians can also be practioners of Hatha Yoga for mental, emotional and physical health. I see no problem here myself.
It is likely that over time what is actually going to happen with the world getting smaller and smaller because of the Internet and Social Media is you likely will see all religions and philosophies blending more and more as normally happens when cultures meet in new ways. It is not something that anyone can stop, it is just the ecumenical nature of life on earth with ships, planes and the Internet going everywhere. I think accepting that it cannot be stopped might be the most useful conclusion for people to come to. Trying to stop multi-culturalism in todays world is like trying to stop the suns rays from hitting the earth everywhere. That's right. It's impossible.
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